


Thoughts in the Periphery

by SamJoinedtheReconCorps



Series: A Flame in the Shadows [6]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Caleb really wants to do good guys, Growing feelings, M/M, Relief, Slow Burn, Worry, and Essek is a fucking loser who cares about them, post ep 66, spoilers for ep 97
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:54:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23024362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamJoinedtheReconCorps/pseuds/SamJoinedtheReconCorps
Summary: Essek is relieved. Caleb hopes they can succeed in their mission.
Relationships: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast
Series: A Flame in the Shadows [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1648909
Comments: 12
Kudos: 146





	Thoughts in the Periphery

**Author's Note:**

> heyyyyy sooooo I'm back, a little sooner than expected, but y'know, one last one before the episode, am I right gang??
> 
> this one's like suuuuuper short, but it just felt right
> 
> I really hope you guys like it!!

The message to the Martinet was short and met with an equally short reply, something about their internal investigations still going underway and that being the reason for not telling Essek what was going on with the stolen beacon. A flimsy excuse, but one Essek accepts in order to keep the Martinett from asking him questions in return. Regardless, Essek feels gross afterwards, a feeling he’d never really dwelled on after his communications with the Martinet before. Yet another thing to shove to the back of his mind.

Moving on to the reports of the morning, Essek finds that he doesn’t find much respite. From the various reports Essek received about the Bright Queen sanctioned mission that took place in the Coronas, Essek quickly pieces together what transpired at the Overcrow. The fight and subsequent flight of the Mighty Nein may have seemed troubling to some, but Essek wasn’t worried. If they did run away, that’s one less problem for him to contend with - if they are now fugitives of the Dynasty, it means that there’ll be a bounty on their heads and any soldiers of the Dynasty would be more than willing to take them out for their queen. And if they didn’t run away, then they are just seeing this mission through to its completion. Essek will never admit that he postponed his duty as the Shadowhand to set the bounty on them - he simply forgot to, given all of the other duties he has to handle.

Yeah, that’s what it was.

Essek abruptly stands from his desk, quickly filing away the reports. He could see the grey mists of dunamantic energy floating at his fingers, this time unintentional. All he needed was to do some research - just get his mind off things. That’s all he needed.

With that, Essek spends the rest of the day and much of the next day in his laboratory, only taking a brief break to trance and eating his meals amongst his components and research material. With the impending attack on the Ashguard Garrison looming overhead, the Bright Queen had cancelled the day’s meetings to instead confer with her head generals - which came as great news to Essek, since that allowed him to fully devote himself to his experiments.

He had barely picked at the steamed vegetables and grilled quail that had been brought to his laboratory, focusing entirely on the dunamantic equations he was trying to balance in order to potentially prolong the effects of _Fortune’s Favor_. It was slow going but it kept his mind occupied and distracted, keeping his thoughts from wandering to other things.

“ _Quick question,_ ” a bubbly voice says, startling Essek to sit up straight and look around the lab. _“Do you know anything about the big tree growing in the Barbed Fields?_ ” the voice continues, and now Essek realizes it’s Jester, and she’s in his head - she’s _sending_ him a message. They’re still working on the job, they’re still his charges.

The relief that floods through him makes him release a breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding.

“ _It’s really big, have you heard about it? What’s it -_ ” Jester continues before getting cut off.

Essek thinks for a beat before he figures out exactly what they are referring to, reigning in his feelings so that he can give them a proper response. “ _You have made it to the Arbor Exemplar. That is impressive._ ” He taps his fingers on his work table, knowing that he needs to also warn them of the area they are in. “ _It is also very deep in dangerous terrain._ ” He waits a second, not having been counting his words and unsure of whether his next few will get to them. Maybe that’s why he allows himself to say, “ _You are doing me proud._ ”

He gets no further word after that, but that’s fine. They were alive and well on their way towards completing their job it seemed. For a brief second he considers _sending_ a message to Caleb - to hear from what, how they’re doing, if the spells he has taught him have been useful. He also wonders what it would be like to hear Caleb’s voice in his head, if his Zemnian lilt would sound different, if the way he said Essek’s name would be the same.

Shaking his head, he lets the idea go, blaming his indulgence in his thoughts on his relief. With a small smile he sets his pencil down, pulling his dinner close and using a small spell to heat it up before digging in, feeling absolutely famished.

* * *

As soon as they approach Bazzoxan, they begin to slow their moorbounders - especially when they see a handful of figures begin to draw near from the outskirts of the city. Bringing Jannik to a stop, Caleb immediately conjures up _dancing lights_ , illuminating Nott, Beau, and himself, and, more importantly, the symbol of the Bright Queen so that it can clearly be in view.

The figures slowly get closer, some notching arrows and nocking crossbows, not aiming at them yet but definitely getting ready. One of the men closer to the center of the group steps forward, the bright red sash on his armor distinguishing him from the rest.

He puts a hand up, saying something in Undercommon that none of them can understand.

“Please give us a chance to speak,” Caleb replies nonetheless, holding the medallion higher. “We are friends of the Bright Queen, all of us.”

“Step forward,” the man shoots back, motioning at them to get closer.

Caleb slowly slides off his moorbounder, beginning to step forward, but pauses, noticing that the rest of what he assumes are the city guard tense, some of their weapons lifting up to ready their aim. Caleb raises his free hand above his head, showing that he is unarmed as he continues toward the man, who meets him halfway.

He’s an older drow who looks at Caleb and the rest of the Mighty Nein warily. “Might I?” he asks, extending a hand.

“I’m going to remove it from my neck, is that alright?” Caleb tells him, gently tugging on the chain to show that he is indeed wearing the amulet.

The drow nods, raising his other hand in warning for his men to stay their weapons. He takes the medallion once Caleb has taken it off, inspecting it carefully before handing it back. “And how would a human with a, um, Zemnian accent come about the favor of the Bright Queen?”

“I know it is a, a strange thing,” Caleb admits, taking the amulet from him. “We are all a bit of a strange sight. It is, ah, not a story that is told quickly.”

Shaking his head, the drow simply says, “Then don’t bother me with it. What is your purpose for being here?”

“Well, we have been sent north, ah, we work for the Bright Queen herself and are, ah, also in league with, ah,” Caleb glances down, wondering if maybe this might be dragging Essek into more trouble than he may have already gotten into after their fantastic fiasco at the Overcrow. Still, he reminds himself, if they succeed here, then that will mean it will have all been a success. He had to believe that they would succeed - according to Jester, Essek didn’t sound upset or disappointed. He was...impressed. “Perhaps you have heard of a man named Essek, of Den Thelyss.”

The drow’s face hardens - but maybe Caleb is just imagining it, especially since he can’t see much of his face beneath the helmet the man is wearing. “I am familiar with those of Thelyss,” he nods.

“He also can vouch for us,” Caleb finishes, relieved that even here Essek’s name carries weight. Comforted that even now, Essek is still helping them.

Gesturing towards the group, the drow asks, “Passing through, what is your business in the city, then? What is this?”

“Ah, we are searching for someone, a possible enemy of the Dynasty,” Caleb explains. “We might not look it but we are friends to the Dynasty”

After giving Caleb one last hard look he nods, dropping the hand he had raised in a hold motion, moving it to the side and down. The soldiers behind him immediately relax, sheathing their weapons and tucking their arrows and bolts back into their quivers.

“Well, you are welcome to stay,” the drow tells him. “We are not a place for visitors often, so it is your, your responsibility to take care of you and your company, but, ah, welcome to Bazzoxan.”

And just like that, they are allowed entry into the city. Just like that, they are on their way to fixing their mistake at the Overcrow, their miscalculation that allowed for this Obann figure to escape.

Caleb puts the medallion back on, tucking it into his shirt, letting it rest beside the amulet he has had since he took back his life after wrenching it from the grips of the demons of his past. He lets his hand linger over them, over the seal that keeps his past at bay and the new symbol that is allowing him to move towards his future - and wonders where his present will lead next.

**Author's Note:**

> Ngl, i dont exactly remember if they let Essek know they were chasing Obann, but i do remember them messaging him from the Arbor Exemplar - and they definitely heard Essek’s message, it was 24 words exactly. That little Bitch Boi wasn't getting away with admitting he was proud of them
> 
> but yeah, guess it's Thursday now - which is both exciting and absolutely terrifying. We'll see what's to come in the next episode.
> 
> I really hope you guys liked this fic!! Thank you so much for reading!!
> 
> This fic was inspired by:  
> Chases and Trees | Critical Role | Campaign 2, Episode 65 - 2:40:00  
> Beneath Bazzoxan | Critical Role | Campaign 2, Episode 66 - 2:02:00


End file.
